This document discusses various system archetypes and patterns that can arise in organizational coaching: 1. It outlines several system archetypes that commonly occur, such as limits to growth, shifting the burden, and tragedy of the commons, which can lead to unintended consequences when actions are taken to address problems. 2. Examples of how these patterns manifest in specific coaching scenarios are provided, such as product owner and team finger-pointing, overloading the product owner with clarification work, and multiple stakeholders pushing for delivery. 3. The document also examines team design patterns around component teams, skill gaps, and levels of collaboration and responsibility. 4. Issues related to dependency across teams and coordination roles are

1. Seeing System Patterns
in Organizational Coaching
LvYi
www.odd-e.com

2. Agenda
System archetypes
1. Contract game
2. Team design
3. Dependency
4. Management role
More scenarios

3. System Archetypes

4. a b a b a b
Variable Link Loop
a b
s
s
a b
s
o
a b
s
a b
o

5. Patterns => Archetypes

6. Problem symptom
Unintended
consequences
Fix
Fixes that backfire

7. Limits to growth
Growing action Actual performance
Limits or
constraint
Corrective action
Growth
process
Limiting
process

8. Shifting the burden
Quick fixes
Problem symptom
Source of problem
or root cause
Side effects
Symptom-
correcting
process
Fundamental
solutions
Addiction
loops

9. Accidental adversaries
Actions in B's
favor
A's success
Actions in A's
favor
B's success
A's fixes to improve
A's own results
B's fixes to improve
B's own results
A's unintended
obstruction of B's
success
B's unintended
obstruction of A's
success

10. Tragedy of the commons
Actual performance
that A measures
Total activity
Gain per
individual activity
"Tragic"
degradation
process
A's growth
process
A's activity
Actual performance
that B measures
B's activity
B's growth
process
A's limiting
process
B's limiting
process
Limits or
constraints

11. Contract Game

12. #shortcuts
Pressure
#bugs
Rework
Speed
s
s
o
s
s
o
#items
starting
Pressure
WIP
Speed
s
s
o
s
o
Take shortcut
to speed up
Start more
to speed up

13. PO and team finger-pointing
PO involving
team on product
specification
PO's ability in
defining product
Team helping PO
on product
specification
Team's ability in
delivering product
PO's obsession
on acceptance
Team's obsession
on acceptance
s s
ss
o
s
s
o
o
o

14. Overload PO with clarification
Transparency #backlogs
Product
wholeness
o
o
s
PO
anxiety
#stories in
one backlog
s
o
PO effort on
clarification
s#PO
s
s

15. PO on prioritization
/ team on clarification
#backlogs
#stories in
one backlog
s
s
s
Team
involvement
o
o
PO effort on
clarification
s
s
Need
for help
PO
anxiety
#PO
s
s

16. Multiple
stakeholder
- push
delivery
Work done for
stakeholder A
Voice from
stakeholder A
Value for
stakeholder A
Total work
request
Available
capacity
Total capacity
Work done for
stakeholder B
Voice from
stakeholder B
Value for
stakeholder B
s
s
s
s
s
s
s
s
o
s
s
s
Pressure for
PO
Pressure for
Team
#shortcuts
Rework
s
s
s
s
o

17. Work done for
stakeholder A
Voice from
stakeholder A
Value for
stakeholder A
Total work
request
Available
capacity
Total capacity
Work done for
stakeholder B
Voice from
stakeholder B
Value for
stakeholder B
s
s
s
s
s
s
s
s
o
s
s
s
Transparency
Difficulty in
prioritization
Decision
quality
Product value
o
o
o
s
s
o
Multiple
stakeholder
- hide
information

18. Team Design

19. Component team for efficiency & quality
Skill gap
Product
scope
Efficiency
s
o
Learning
s
s
Quality
s
o
s
s
Product
scope
Dependecny Value
delivery
o o
Sacrifice value delivery

20. Skill gapEfficiency
Team
anxiety o
o
o
s
o
Need
for learning
Learning
s
#backlogs
os
Specialized team for efficiency
#backlogs
Value
delivery
o
Sacrifice value delivery

21. Individual
skill gap
o
o
Learning
Individual
efficiency
Multi-tasking
s
s
Skill consideration
in dividing work
o
s
o
Individual efficiency

22. Individual
skill gap
o
o
Individual
efficiency
Team
performance
Team
stability
s
Skill consideration
in dividing work
o
Need
for help
Level of
Collaboration
s
s
s
o
s
Team performance / collaboration

23. Team performance / responsibility
Team
performance
Shared
responsibility
Skill consideration
in dividing work
o
Goal
alignment
o
o
s s

24. Dependency

25. Organizational change
Coordination
mechanisms
Dependency
across teams
Team scope
Perceived
control
Motivation for
organizational change
o
o
o
s
s
s
s

26. Coordination roles
o
#roles for
coordination
s
Dependence on
coordinators
Capability in
self-organization
Coordination
complexity
o
s
Appreciation on
coordinators
s
o
s

27. Management Role

28. Motivation
Extrinsic
motivation
Intrinsic
motivation
Team
performance
s o
so
o

29. Pressure on
SM/Coach
Control on
Team
Extrinsic
motivation
Intrinsic
motivation
Team
performance
ss
o
os
s
Paradox
in coaching

30. Self-managing failure / team capability
Command & Control
Team performance
Capability to
self-manage
Opportunity to
self-manage
o s
o s
o
s

31. Self-managing failure / leadership
Use of
positional power
Challenge on
leading team
Use of influence &
leadership
Leadership
capability
s o
s o
o
s

32. More Scenarios